Background...

The course of a single bullet has changed history. Steve Rogers became Iron
Man and then died. Peter Parker became the Hulk. Reed Richards lost his
family and then became director of S.H.I.E.L.D. Smaller changes, such as Bruce
Banner becoming Spider-Man and Stephen Strange becoming Wolverine, have
occurred. Nonetheless, Galactus stands on the verge of devouring Earth. It
remains to be seen if Reed can call upon all the superhero community in order
to save the planet Earth.

In Detail...

Galactus stands ominously amidst the tall skyscrapers of New York City. The
U.S. military attempts to intercede. Unfortunately, the Silver Surfer uses the
Power Cosmic to annihilate the brave men. On the S.H.I.E.L.D. heli-carrier,
Reed tries to devise a plan to stop Galactus. He informs the President that
there is very little chance of defeating the galactic entity. Despite the grim
chances presented, Reed won't go down without a fight.

.H.I.E.L.D. taps into
all worldwide communication systems to inform the world of Reed's decision to
fight. The X-Men, Dr. Doom, Magneto, Namor, Cloak and Dagger, Moon Knight, the
Punisher, and Tony Stark (in the memory of Steve Rogers he puts on the Iron Man
armor) are inspired to heed Reed's call. However, some heroes are not
available to fight such as Thor. Reed's TV broadcast is heard by the fugitive
Peter Parker. At Reed's request for help, Peter transforms into the Hulk and
leaps off to New York.

short time later, Reed and Tony prepare for battle.
They come to a mutual understanding. The world's meta-humans all converge on
Galactus and the Silver Surfer. A spectacular battle erupts. The combined
force of the meta-humans proves to be brave. However, they are still easily
out-classed by the might of Galactus. Suddenly, the Hulk makes his appearance
known. Peter heroically confronts Galactus. Galactus throws everything at the
Hulk but he manages to move forward. Galactus is made aware of a new emotional
rage. Peter's defiant stand inspires a guilty conscience in the Silver
Surfer.

Peter's stand has left him beaten and broken. He manages to croak out
an apology to Aunt May. As the Hulk dies, the Silver Surfer takes action. He
manages to annoy Galactus to the point where the world devourer leaves Earth
angrily. The Silver Surfer remains relegated to Earth. The heroes look down
at the Hulk's corpse realizing that the shunned monster of society saved them
all.

Later, a grand funeral is held for those who perished in the defense of
Earth. Reed gives a stirring eulogy. His words are interspersed with images
of what transpired in the previous four issues (Ben Parker being shot, Steve
Rogers dying, Reed's fateful rocket trip, and Peter's transformation into the
Hulk). Aunt May lovingly looks down at Peter's gravestone, conveniently placed
next to the resting place of Steve Rogers. An inspirational quote by John
Donne ends the issue and mini-series.

In General...

Let me start off by saying that Bullet Points was not JMS's best work.
Everything that makes a good comic book - characterization, solid plot threads,
seamless integration between the panels and script, and personality - Bullet
Points did not possess. That being said, issue #5 surprised me by being rising
above the level of turgidness into mediocrity. There is just something
indefinably good about involving Galactus and Silver Surfer. The threat of
cosmic upheaval seems to bring out the best in Marvel's writers.

I actually
felt some emotion coming out of the cracks. While the goal was simple, the
characters (and hence the plot) were striving for something bigger than
introducing moments designed only for comic book sales and coolness. Put quite
simply, there was something at stake here.

Peter's resolution and redemption
was perhaps the most enjoyable part of this story. JMS finally decided to
inject the "everyman" ethos into Peter's mindset - something that has made 616
Spider-Man into an American pop culture icon. His decision to defy the
inevitability of Galactus provided plenty of pathos for the reader. For the
first time I actually cared about what would happen to these characters,
especially Peter.

The "everyman" approach worked well for Reed Richards's
character. This was despite the fact that Reed's taking up of the mantle of
Nick Fury should've never been developed as a conceivable plot device. The
character's story resolution works well if you can suspend the disbelief that
the analytic Mr. Fantastic is now the cigar chomping spy smasher. JMS even
manages to inject some of the supporting cast with some life. In particular, I
wish that Tony Stark's motivations were developed more in the preceding four
issues. His taking up of the mantle of Iron Man was a nice touch.

All that
being said, most of the problems that infected the previous four issues were
still present. Bruce Banner as Spider-Man is a good example of two identities
being mashed together with the expectation that the reader will suspend
rational thinking by his sheer excitement. It just doesn't work, even to those
paying only minimal attention. Secondly, everything feels entirely rushed.
There was never a sense of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby rushing to get to the end of
their story for those who read Galactus's original appearance in Fantastic
Four. A rushed feeling also makes the reader quick to make assumptions about
the ending. I found the ending pretty predictable. For a mini-series that
prides itself on a grandiose premise (one bullet changes everything), the
ending was standard superhero fare.

The art was solid. Particular praise
should go to Edwards's coloring job. There's some real diversity on the color
palette, particularly in the huge battle that ends the issue. One issue I had
was the mishmash of costumes from different eras in Marvel history. For
instance, some characters wear their classic uniforms while others wear more
modern threads (i.e. Storm wears her first costume while the original five X-
Men wear their X-Factor pajamas). It really doesn't matter to a non-Marvel
history buff. The again, this mini-series main audience is Marvel history
buffs due to the subject matter. The editor, Mark Paniccia, should have
emphasized better integration of research and stylistic elements. And Spider-
Man just looks odd in a purple (!!!) dominated ensemble.

Overall Rating...

Despite all of negatives accrued over the previous four issues, JMS surprises
us all by creating a moderately entertaining ending. However, nobody better be
clamoring for Bullet Points 2!

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